Broken Pact
by Me And My God Complex
Summary: [ONESHOT][END OF SERIES SPOILERS][NO PAIRINGS] All those years ago, they'd made a pact. A promise. But in the end, all promises get broken, even by the most honorable.


_**Broken Pact**_

_**by Me And My God Complex**_

_The road stretched well ahead of them, surrounded by fields on either side. Edward carried his suitcase over one shoulder, narrowed amber eyes watching the way in front of him with hesitation. Alphonse, nothing but an a soul in an armored shell, turned to his brother._

"_Brother? We're going to miss the train." Commented the little boy, who was no more than eleven. Edward was twelve, recently having passed his State Alchemy Exam._

"_Yah...Let's go." Edward replied, and he swung one booted foot forward in an exaggerated movement, and began to walk. They say the first step in a journey is always the hardest one, but once you get moving, things will be easier. Of course, event hough this analogy was running through Alphonse's mind, he could have no idea what would be happening to them in the years to come._

_The two boys could have no idea of the death, horror and failure that would haunt them after that first step. transmutations gone wrong, blood soaked battlefields, continual disappointment. People sacrificed for other's selfish needs, the military's hidden agendas. Homunculi, chimeras, crazed alchemists. Religious nut cases, false leads on the Stone. Rejection at Edward's State Alchemist's Title, perhaps jealousy. _

_  
Perhaps a small inkling was granted to Alphonse, for the boy appeared to be worried about something. The first few minutes, Edward didn't notice. But as the day wore on, he began to catch Alphonse's nervous fidgeting, and the odd noises he was making._

"_Are you okay Al?" Asked Edward. Alphonse simply made a noise similar to a sigh, and shook his head. Edward stared at him for a few moments, before shrugging and turning his eyes back on the dirt track. Once again, both boys were left to their own thoughts. _

_Just as the train station appeared in the distance, the blond once again noticed how Alphonse was acting. This time, he stomped in front of Alphonse and look a long way up to the younger's helm. Golden eyes blazed in worry and anger. "Just what is the matter Al?"_

"_It's nothing brother." Alphonse tried to convince the elder, as he attempted to move around the State Alchemist. Edward stood his ground, however, crossing his arms in a display of defiance._

"_Al, I don't care if we miss that train. You're telling me what's wrong." Edward's 'big brother drive' was really kicking in. He was willing to be late on their most recent lead if it meant Alphonse would stop acting like a kicked puppy._

"_Brother...I was thinking about...human transmutation." Alphonse began, immediately regretting it when Edward flinched. Well, he did say he wanted to know._

"_That all?" Apparently Edward would not be deterred. He continued to stand there, arms crossed, an eyebrow raised in waiting. Alphonse shifted to another foot, and decided he might as well admit it._

"_No...brother...what would you do if I died?" As the boy expected, when the question was asked Edward looked horrified and afraid, before his 'mature' mask came back up._

"_I don't know Al." Edward paused for a moment, actually considering the question. "I couldn't live without you, probably. It's be like when mom died. Why?" Speaking of such subjects not too long after their occurrences made Edward feel the grief that had washed over him when their mother had died. _

_**'Al...let's bring mom back.'**_

"_Brother...if I were too die, say on our search for the Stone...would you try to bring me back?" Alphonse asked, obviously very reluctant to ask. It had been bothering him since the last mini-fight they'd been in. He didn't want to burden his brother like this. But still, he found it important. Would he risk it all over again for Alphonse?_

"_I don't know. Maybe." Edward admitted, wishing he'd never asked Alphonse what was wrong. Why did the suit of armor think of such mind turning questions? "You're all I have left."_

"_Brother! I don't want you to do that! If I die, you should leave me dead!" Alphonse but shrieked the last bit, sounding truly distressed. Edward put a comforting hand on Alphonse's arm. The other couldn't feel it, but it was the thought that counted._

"_Fine Al. I'll never transmute you if I die." Edward trailed off a bit at the end, leaving Alphonse with his doubts. So the eleven-year-old did his best growl and grabbed Edward's arm before the blond could walk off._

"_I'm not believing you until you promise!" Alphonse paused for a moment, another thought occurring to him when Edward looked like he was bout to refuse. "If you don't promise, I won't promise, and if you ever die I'll try human transmutation!" Alphonse's voice was shrill, for he was bluffing. But apparently Edward didn't see through it, and paled considerably._

"_Fine, I'll promise." But Edward fixed Alphonse with a steely gaze. "You have to promise too." Alphonse nodded in agreement, and he and Edward clasped hands. Adopting a formal tone which he normally used, Alphonse began._

"_I, Alphonse Elric, swear to never try human transmutation on my brother." Alphonse could see the relieved look on Edward's face, and immediate guilt clouded him as he moved some fingers. _

"_And I, Edward Elric, swear to never try human transmutation on my brother." Edward could feel the relief coming off of Alphonse's, and dropped the other's hand and moved some of his own fingers. Neither noticed the other's movement, as they began to march to the train station._

That had been over four years ago.

As Edward stood where his brother had last been seen, he could only remember that day, and that pact they'd taken.

_**The two boys could have no idea of the death, horror and failure that would haunt them after that first step. transmutations gone wrong, blood soaked battlefields, continual disappointment. People sacrificed for other's selfish needs, the military's hidden agendas. Homunculi, chimeras, crazed alchemists. Religious nut cases, false leads on the Stone. Rejection at Edward's State Alchemist's Title, perhaps jealousy. **_

They Elric brothers had experienced it all. And it had led up to the ultimate experience, or as so write some authors.

Death. Alphonse was dead. He'd sacrificed himself and the remains of the Stone to bring Edward back. Flash limbs at all. But Edward couldn't stand that. Alphonse was everything. The blond kept thinking this, trying to block out the formulas and arrays that were appearing in his head.

So after shooing away Rose, Wrath and the baby, Edward began to draw the arrays. He didn't care what he was sacrificing, only what he would be gaining. He was willing to give up another arm. Another leg. His heart. His soul. All in order to bring the most important person in the world back to him.

"I'll bring you back Al...I promise." As Edward said this, he finished his transmutation circles drawn over his body. The irony of the word _promise _hit him hard, and he could remember that day like it was yesterday. But still he continued, activating the alchemy.

As the blue lights filled the room, and Edward felt himself being pulled away, all he could think about was Alphonse's face, and a certain sentence that kept running through his mind.

_'I guess I wasn't the only one who crossed my fingers when we made that promise, eh Al?'_

_**The End**_

_**A/N: I was so sad when I finished this.**_


End file.
